Monday, 28 May 2012

I know
some people hate these type of posts, but I like them, its a way to be nosey in
a polite way. All I ever feel like I do is review, review and review a bit more, so I had to switch it up a bit, or try to :)

I am just
going to show you what I got for my birthday and some other stuff I have bought
for myself. These won't be a review or anything, they will just to show you
what I got :)

So this
year I was very lucky with what I got.

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Took the picture on my bed hence all the creases. What can I say... I'm a creasy sleeper

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For my
birthday I got:

The Zara
Messenger Bagin
Grey and Red- I actually used the money I got for my birthday to buy this.
I got it online because I wanted it a few months ago and then it became a
blogger craze and I was like oooo it must be soo good. Went instore and they were SOLD OUT :(I took it out for its
first trip the other day and I went shopping with it and it is such a nice bag-
comfy, spacious and looks so good :)

All Star
Black Leather Converse- I never thought I could wear converse, even though I can be a bit of a
boy at times or football fanatic if you will, I just thought nope these will
just not work. HOW WRONG WAS I? I tried them on and even my Mum was like
"they look good" and I trust my Mum because if they looked naff she
would pull a "don't think so" face. By the way, buying
Converse/trainers can be just as addictive as buying cosmetics. As soon as I
got home I was thinking of my next pair... (I forgot to take a picture but, I have a picture on
my Instagram: @beautyfullyblog, if you are interested) or you can see them on the Office website.

Estee
Lauder Advanced Night Repair - Another item I wanted for ages. It is really
expensive but I'm still trying it out and will do a review on it when I have
used it for a few months. It is oil free and a 50ml bottle is supposed to last me
around 4 months (from what I was told by the lady at the counter!). The bottle is so nice too ;)

Estee
Lauder Daywear SPF 25- I am
not sure about this, I chose this and then realised it only had UVA protection.
I am becoming really fussy about SPF protection, it is so so so important. If
you are in the sun or even on a cloudy day you NEED SPF. I wouldn't go any further
than SPF 30, even in summer. I also think this cream is a bit heavy for me and
I have a few spots, so I think it may be from the cream. Not completely sure
yet.

Non birthday items...

Katy
Perry Lashes- Which I
havent tried and tested yet, but I think they will look so so good :) I thought they were the most natural ones and have a nice curl. A bit off
point but my sister did try the Cheryl Cole eyelashes the other day and they look
are beautiful- long and natural. Defo could not tell she was wearing them.

Bobbi
Brown items- being
obsessed with beauty stuff, I NEVER wear concealer or foundation, not because I
don't need it (trust me I do!) but I was a bit of a scaredy cat and never took
the plunge. I bought the corrector, the creamy concealer kit, the foundation
stick and the concealer brush. I havent tried them out yet as I only got them
on Friday but I will let you know how it goes.

Paco
Rabanne Lady Million- I have
wanted this for ages, it smells so good! The guy's version smells amazing and I
was tempted to buy that, maybe next time eh?

Real
Techniques Stippling Brush- I get sucked in by hyped products and so I wanted to try the Core
Collection but I opted for this brush for now :) It feels so soft and I love
the design.

Redken
Iron Silk 07- I am on
a "no heat thing on my hair" (I have no idea why, because I never put
heat onto my hair, seriously, its a birds nest) but I bought this just in case I have
to straighten or curl my hair for a wedding or a nice event where I shouldn't
go looking like I have been dragged through a wind tunnel.

John
Frieda Full Repair Perfect Ends Deep Infusion- This is one product that I have tried and I really like
it. I am trying to grow my hair and so won't be getting it cut in a while. I
needed a treatment that I could use after I wash my hair and I was curious
about this range. So I picked it up in Boots and I am so glad I did... Review
coming right up!

Essie
nail polishes- My
sister picked up the Essie 'billionails', 'trillionails' and 'Matte about you'
in the Boots where she works at £1 EACH! I was like bargain!!! The billionails
and trillionails are the second and third part of a nail strengthening system,
I don't have the first part, haha beggers can't be choosers! ;)

I am interested to try 'Matte about you' because I usually like my nails to look shiny, but I have a few colours I have in mind which I could "matte out".

I did try
Step 2 (Billionails) and you can use the nail polishes as a base coat or a top
coat. I used it as both and this is may nails after day 4: (not that bad)

I'm also
wearing Essie's Jam 'n' Jelly which my sister got from Boots. The brush
is flipping amazing. It is similar to the Rimmel 60 Second nail polishes (which
I compared to the Dior Vernis brush here). I will still need to use 2/3 of the nail strengthening products more before I say you NEED it in your life, I have only used them
once- so far and so far so good :) My sis did well <3

Nivea Sun
Light Feeling Sun Lotion SPF50- I need this because the weather in the UK is HOT!
I got SPF 50 when I should have got 30 (doh!) but I can't be bothered to change
it, so I will protected from everything. Everything. I'll defo be taking that
to Wireless with me. Hopefully the weather holds out!

Elizabeth's
Daughter Purifying Mask- Wanted to try this skincare brand before and I do like this product. It
retails for around £19.50. I think I got this for slightly cheaper online. Again
quite happy with it, makes my skin bright and makes it look clear.

Elemis
Papaya Enzyme Peel- An exfoliator which I got from lookfantastic when they had a 20% discount on Elemis products. This is
quite expensive and it is 50ml, so I am expecting good things from this one. But I really like the smell and have only used it once.

Dorothy
Perkins Sunglasses- Got
these because I can't find my other ones. These were a bargain at like £6.
Sturdy, cool (or I like to think so) and comfortable.

I hope
this wasn't a naff post and you enjoyed looking at what I got and expect to see
some reviews.

Sunday, 27 May 2012

I am determined to make this
scent my signature and I think I am almost there. My other signature scent is
"apparently" Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy, which my cousin smelt
on me and she loves it now. Slightly obsessed like me :)

But my new love is... Cacharel Amor Amor (EDT).
I had this before but never took notice. I stole got this off my mum and
have been wearing it ALL the time. I seriously love it and cannot believe I
didn't steal get it earlier.

I love fruity smells but this is very fresh and floral. This is not a sweet scent but it is quite a sophisticted, "grown up" scent. It has notes of Vanilla, Mandarin, Jasmine, Black
Currant and Lily of the Valley. I think some people who prefer lighter scents
for daytime may find this a little heavy, I do like slightly strong scents, but
nothing like Clinque Aromatics. Urgh that is something else. My owns that too and I really dislike it, makes my nose hurt. Won't be stealing that one!

Excuse my messy bed in the background

Even though its EDT I thought it was EDP because it has such great staying power- I was really impressed and I love how I get a whiff here and there during the day ;)

With the bottle, I ADORE it! Red is my favourite colour and the design is simple and to the point, no fancy stuff.

In terms of the bottle size, it is "handbag friendly" compared to other bottles which tend to be so so big that I can't chuck it in my handbag and tote it around all day; but this is an exception. I know the 30ml is a big difference from a 100ml but I still think the 100ml won't be that much bigger in relation to the width. (I am comparing this to the Britney Spears perfumes, the 30ml are just right to take with you but when it gets to 100ml, it is like carrying a rock around, its so bulky/wide).

Does that even make sense?!I am sorry if this made NO sense, I am naff at describing scents and now the size of bottles, so hopefully you get the jist. :)

My next post will be my birthday haul and some other things I have acquired over the past couple of months!

Saturday, 26 May 2012

WOOOO!!! My exams are finished *Beyonce booty shake* and I went out last night for my sister's birthday and got home at like 3am. Haha not used to it ;) Its 5.25pm, so I'm still in my pj's :)

Ok let's face it (no pun intended) we all have or have had spots/blemishes/zits, it happens. Luckily for me they are frequent visitors and enjoy a nice long stay with visible after affects.

I am trying to get clear skin and I was almost there until I got a heat rash on my face (seriously?!) and so all that went blah.

But I have found a few products which have helped me during my exams, where my face was SOO bad, like the worst ever (partly my fault, a combination of chocolate and stress do not work together, FYI).

I mainly use these products at night, but on the days I am home I apply them during the day as well.

At night, I use my cleanser (Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel) and then tone and then apply a face cream but miss out the areas where I intend to put the spot treatment. I have two different spot treatments I use:

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1) Origins Super Spot Remover10ml for £12- I tried the original one and I liked it, so I had really high expectations because it said it was 'super'. I do like it and it does reduce the size of the blemish. Depending on how stubborn the blemish is will obviously depend on how long/often you use it.

This product contains Salicylic Acid, a "blemish busting" ingredient. The product also claims to "minimise the appearance of post-blemish marks." I haven't found that much of a difference in the appearance of the scarring left behind, but it does a good job at reducing redness and blemish size.

I do find that when I use it every day for like 3 days (it can be used 1-3 times a day) it dries the skin out around where the spot was, but make sure you apply to the spot, not to the surrounding skin aswell. And to deal with the flakiness I just use a gentle exfoliator :)

The only negative about this is that I think it is really expensive. The bottle is tiny. It has a strong herby/spicy smell too, which I'm sure some will not like. When you apply it to the skin it does tingle, but not to the extent where you want to rip your face off, but some people would find it quite strong. FYI- do NOT put it on a broken blemish, which I cleverly did and screamed my butt off. And that did hurt.

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2) Tea tree oil 10ml for £2.99 and witch hazel gel £1.99 for 35ml- I use these together and they have really helped my skin to clear up. I found that it is most useful when I keep reapplying like every 4 hours, well for me anyway, because I had a few horrible spots which would not go alone with the Origins spot remover. I had to call in some reinforcement. I moisturise my face before bed but leave the areas where I have the blemish. I apply the tea tree oil using a cotton bud and allow the skin to absorb it. I then apply a layer of the witch hazel gel, leaving it on overnight.

There are some tea tree oils which are pure and can be used alone, but I haven't used them, so I can't really comment. So, try a blended one first, if this doesnt work then move onto a pure version. Pure tea tree oil I imagine to be quite drying so use sparingly.

(Tea Tree Oil not pictured)

This is a cheap alternative for a spot treatment, so I would try this method out, you do have to be persistent and if it doesn't work then have a look at other alternatives.

I have found that these work great for me, until my skin gets used to it and I will be back to square one finding another spot fighting regime.

I hope this was helpful. I did a blog post on another spot treatment for whiteheads a little while ago here.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend :)

Devia xxx

P.S. You need to go and watch The Avengers :) I've seen it TWICE, I just cannot get enough of erm ...Captain America ;) Seriously obsessed!